The Gazette Montreal, Quebec, Quebec, Canada Saturday, June 26, 1971 - Page 42
Barbarous Conditions at Seville
While officials at Vancouver were having their troubles in the world series match between Fischer and Taimanov, they were at least able to see it through to completion. Also in those matches between Larsen and Uhlmann at Las Palmas, and Korchnoi vs. Geller at Moscow, there were no difficulties. At Seville, however, it was a different story. A fiasco in fact, when 22 year old Robert Huebner, West Germany, defaulted his best of ten games match with former world champion Tigran Petrosian, USSR, before the finish.
Young Huebner surprised the chess world by qualifying for the Challengers, and then proceeded to surprise his experienced opponent by drawing the first six games, in several of which he held the advantage.
It was at this point that he complained to officials about the noise. They played in the hotel's reading room which was situated underneath a busy street! Noise was also added by hotel guests, and he declared he was no longer able to concentrate and feared a breakdown. His opponent objected to the change of room asked for arguing he should have objected much earlier. (It seems Petrosian is sufficiently deaf not to be bothered by noise.) The judge, Harry Golombek, England, with long experience in international competition, saw no possibility of action against the “Njet” of the Soviet delegation.
Spanish organizers meanwhile scouted other areas and found a quiet smaller room, from which moves could have been transferred to a large demonstration board for the general public in another room.
Petrosian did not agree to this but added that he would honor the decision of the judge. Golombek was of the opinion that the proposed change was not opportune, but requested the organizers to make sure that utmost silence was obeyed.
Whether there was any improvement in the 7th game reports do not state, but Huebner obtained a marked advantage and then made an elementary blunder, which cost him the game. He then gave notice of his retirement.
